Twisted tales of Buffy meets Donnie

This is not a review, but some musings that I wrote down after watching Southland tales - definetly on my top ten mental movies list. But still a must see. In a way. 

IMDB says people who liked it also liked Brazil and Bladerunner. Which makes a twisted kind of sense. My summary is simple;

Music makes me take control

Bodum Pavina - double layer for extreme isolation and clear taste

Two things for inspiration and finding the flow - coffee and music;

The coffee has reached room temperature. The bitter bite reminds me that it is time to refill the cup again. Morning will not move forward without this action. Refilled I can once again type. Let the words pour forth with the hopeful goal of something worth keeping.

Like the post on toes in the grass, this one called Finding the Flow came up over the weekend, by another member of the rat pack of social and digital media - aka Media Hacks.

CC is clearly carving his own path, doing speaking and books, along with being a dedicated dad, rather than working for an agency. Pushing the podcasts every now and again, as another item in the content mix.

And that is part of the joy of reading his post, hearing his thoughts and reflecting on his questions.

He brings another view and vibe, kicking it up with the music, relaxing with a cup, and generally bringing a smile.

I've had a lot more fun with music over the last few months, after I (finally) got on the streaming bandwagon and subscribed to Wimp (similar to Spotify, Norwegian based rather than Swedish, paid only and more focus on blog and recommending music across genres, less cover bands)

Rather than having it as background while doing things, I've used it to explore new ideas and themes, and to have a jump back into years long gone - songs that played on the radio that never bought, artists that seemed strange at the time but grew into something more.

Not simply a tool to tune out and zone in, it has added a little bit at times when that was needed. And all for one less pint each month. While feeling sort of good that some of that money is being kicked forward.

Substitution - it really subs to be you

Seth, in an email this time - Domino;

A New York City publisher probably needs $2000 a page to acquire, edit, typeset, print and distribute a book (making up a number from thin air). A self-published ebook author needs $1 a page.
That’s not a cost-efficiency. That’s a totally different industry. But the if the viewer/reader doesn’t treat the two products as fundamentally different, if reading or watching one is a replacement for the other, then a crisis is right around the corner.

Dis-intermediation is one thing. But the democratization of production? Making everything digital, and then making the tools free? That is the real "killer".

And no, it is not the "same" tools as used by the pros, but for a lot of things, good enough is more than enough. It doesn't need to have 80 footnotes for each chapter if that is hard to make, it can just have a free companion book of notes, sources and ideas for further reading.


Take the Flinch, by Julien Smith. Yes, literally take it. It is free. Written, proofed, edited and with a cover. Uploaded to Amazon, hosted and distributed by them as well. All for free. Because the ideas are what matters. Getting more people exposed to it means more people hcaniging their life and our world.

Sure it might also give a boost to the rest of the Domino back catalog, some more traction for the blog, and related sales for Amazon of Pressfield amongst others. But the main point is that putting out a book for free can be close to free.

And it goes for a lot of other media content as well. The variety of choice enabled by global instant distribution, combined with digital back catalogs? Stunning.

Case in point; audio content and yours truly.

 (Caution; shameless self-links ahead - back in time)


Once upon a time audio was music. And music was cd's (well a few records and a bunch of tapes, but it took off with the shiny disc).

As I grew older I picked up back catalog for artists I liked, one or five golden oldies, and new releases every now and then. Then I had a rather modest 150. That is one a week for three years.

Then I got online radio streaming - and so I could listen any time and "any where"(well, at uni anyway). Whole new world, less planned music, more new and unknown stuff.

Then I got the Zen Micro. And started making digital copies of those 150 cd's. And enjoying them all over again in new ways.

Then I got podcasts - and suddenly a whole new world of audio content on the go poured in. First a lot of "talk". The stories as Escapepod led to Podcastle and Pseudopod. And now music at work - Tiesto, Gareth Emery, Sebastien B keeps me in the zone when coding or doing number crunching.

So from simply music, today there are four audio content sets competing for my time;

• 150+ albums in iTunes 
• DAB and streaming Pinnell radio
• Music podcasts at work
• Assorted podcasts on the go

Most of them at little or no cost to me beyond already sunk cost such as the radio, the internet connection and the iPhone.

And then there is Spotify and Wimp...


- ...and the sun is back - again - mixed day today, but bright summer nights keeps the sun on past 21:00 ...

Just do your stuff

Going more and more pure digital - added a subscription for Fast Company on the iPad, and started off wtih the 100 creative people issue. Way back when (before this blog, actually last century...) used to subscribe to both FC and Wired, but along the boom and bust FC got axed. And I've been meaning to pick itup again for some time now. But with the digital price approaching a single printed copy at the newsstand there really wasn't any need for consideration.

Now I just need to find a good way to get the ideas easily off the app and into the blog. (All the while working away at the Wired backlog stack still occupying a corner of the desk)

But enough meta, and onto the meat


Best quote so far from the 100 most creative list;

"I want to say that, instead of im-possible, I'M possible,” ... "And so are you.” CeeLo

Sure there are thing that are impossible. And sometimes we meet people we feel are impossible. But just move beyond it. focus on yourself and how you can move (yourself or others) forward.

It is so easy to just get into the funk, and let it bring you down as well.

Amazing how much better things get when you improve the bits you have control over rather than ranting about the ones you don't.

@codepo8 

Getting both that tweet in the stream and reading the CeeLo piece on the same day felt like a happy coincidence. And it sparked another boost of energy, creativity and finally now blogging.

This is going out 'realtime', with the archive posts coming up being backdated to fill the gaps from last week.


As a suitable side note, the soundtrack for this writing is Girl Talk and All Day. A true example of making impossible into possible. Mashup (archive ftw) at it's finest?

18.5 days of music on the laptop feels like magic. Sure Spotify and Wimp brings everything and then some. But I still enjoy having "my" collection - since it allows for fun trips down memory lane, like picking up Tommy Tee from 1998 and Dr Dre from 2001, or working out again to Prodigy, like way back when.


...and the sun made a short but crucial appearance today - otherwise it feels like the end times, rain rain rain for days and days...

Glory, glory - what's the story?

Story inspiration this time - Pseudopod - is mainly a horror podcast, but episode 266 is as much about life as things that go bump in the night.

The theme brings to mind Bruce Springsteen and "Glory Days" (embed below) - looking back as much as ahead, or simply at right now. Living in the moment, or for the moment.



Sure there might be wonderful things hidden behind the fence.
But there might just as easily be things best left undisturbed.

We glorify youth, and by extension say that growing up is not a goal as such, just something that happens as you try to (re)capture that feeling of owning the world and everything in it. When everything was all about the here and now, when it felt like nothing outside mattered, and everything was still possible - because tomorrow hadn't started.

But every day is a new day, every dream another chance. Carpe Diem isn't just about the big dreams. It is also living life as it happens. Every day a little piece of the puzzle. Every (chance) encounter another moment to savour.

So, as summer is setting in, projects and deadlines are winding down, are you preparing for fall, or just staying in the zone of now?

Who loves you, and who do you love?

Starting off this back-post with a little bit of mood music, setting the mood and the stage. Bringing us back to England in the late nineties. With the rave track The messiah, featuring the quotes borrowed as a title; Who loves you, and who do you love? [Running Man]

This is part of my history, but also of a lot of myths. The summer of love. The happy generation. Bringing youths together in new ways, before Internet and mobiles dominated.

"Tribalism’s hothouse atmosphere has turned history into myth. ..., we use myth not to inform, but to bond"

- Intelligent Life

Stories for children? Lies for adults... as they said in the Science of Discworld books. History is a selection, a bias, strengthens over time to support an image, an ideal, a group. But do we need it anymore at the national level? 


Does it make sense to talk about the nation state in a grand perspective, when it is 14 billion years and change... And then at least ten thousand years of intelligent life (pun intended re source)?

Norway as a modern state dates back to 1905 or 1814, first parted from Denmark into a union with Sweden and then Independence. So why trace routes past four hundred years of assorted constellations jut to find a "true" past?


I for one am more influenced by ancient Greece, assorted enlightenment ideals, some English poets, thinkers and tinkerers. Not to mention the global, but US centric, online digital mash up of it all. Sure I enjoy the sagas and tales of old Norse gods and exploits. But they no more impact my daily life than does the Odyssey.

"We can found our identity on personal taste, not national myth. The future, in this reading, belongs to supranational groupings—football fans, jazz lovers, “Twilight” addicts—whose bonds soar over state boundaries like cut-price airlines"

Not one identity, but a mix suited to you, based on when and how you grew up, went to university and worked. Geography meet ideas. Limits, meet boundless. 


So, I might be a Norwegian by birth, but I am a geek, a ManU man, 'enga in my heart and so on. 
Not quite a brown coat, but certainly a wheedon'esqu gibson'reading free tweeting digitized mind. 


Also an ex-consultant and an ENTJ, which pegs me more than any national boundary could ever possibly do. Personality goes a long way...

"Any worthwhile identity must grow from self-awareness as well as self-esteem, and the sceptical temperature of contemporary life is conducive to a journey of self-knowledge"

And with tools like blogs to reflect and for some also debate, the options are endless. To bad the time isn't. But keep on telling the stories, shaping the myths and maybe, just maybe you'll figure out; Who loves you, and who do you love? 






...if not: it's time to start RUNNING

Internet is a book

A nice to the point tweet from Hugh kicked of this train of thought. With the announcement that iBooks can handle javascript it became clear that ebooks are digital files in their own right. And with the region CSS suggestion from Adobe (or the FT webapp or the Playoby one), the boundaries between "publishing" something as a fixed file as opposed to making it flexibly available is blurring a bit more.

A blog post is fixed, until it is edited. But a tweet is a self contained unit of content. Except when it is a retweet, or a reply, or garners retweets and replies - then it is a part of a conversation more than content. Right?

So that is where the "microblogging" comes in (and no, I don't include twitter in that bucket - due mainly to the lack of easy navigation and structure when compared to the others) - tumblr and posterous, surely many others as well [see wikipedia], but those are the two that I've played with myself.

Sitting between the possiblity of conversation in a blog (aka the comments, and sometimes pingbacks) - and the almost necessity of it at twitter, the microblogs make sharing posts and following users a central part of the experience.

But does that make them fundamentally different? Or just slightly improved for the users that want the whole flow rather than the main content?

How does it compare to publishing a "fixed" piece of content, be it on Slideshare, as a downloadable pdf, or in the form of an ebook?
Does the temporal permanence change how we as users/readers perceive and interact with the content?
Or is everything consumed in a "here and now" setting, rendering the packaging irrelevant to the usage?

hey everybody: ebooks are just websites built for special browsers. it should not suprise you that ebooks can do what websites do [1]

@hughmcguire 

And for some twisted thoughts brought out in music, the new single from Bjørk is streamable over on another tumblr - reminds me that I actually have three of her albums, and here they come into the play queue shortly... when this was written - pre-scheuled for release.

Digital wins most times. (now on Debut, track 04 - There's More To Life Than This - oh yes)

Fictional dimension

Dimensions in Mathematics - a phantom, a chimera

Readers who will have snagged a copy of Stieg Larsson's newest thriller The Girl Who Played with Fire ... HUP blogpost de-bunking the book - a shame since it sounded like a great read. As is the Millenium Trilogy by the afore mentioned mr Larsson (Stieg not Steig as the have it), crime with a twisted backstory and a bit of tech thrown in more or less likely.


As for the more meta dimension on this blog - I've been blogging a bit in Norwegian on two different WP blogs (consolidated them last week) the last six months, as well as playing around with Tumblr and WP in general to get a feel for the systems. Also Twitter has been eating up a fair share of time - skimming tweets, reading articles and re-tweeting rather than reflecting a bit more in-depth. But today being 2-2-10 (or binary 2 ;D) it was time to get some thoughts flowing again for the new month, year and decade

...and the sun shone somewhere behind the clouds today - as the snow kept on falling...

Soundtrack; Gareth Emery podcast, epi 87 - bit of backlog there as well

convenience or bust

saw an ad for Sirenia and their new album 13th floor in nemi
click itunes search. Entered sir and there it was atop the list. Quick listen to preview of three songs and hello downloads.
Instant and half price compared to shop. -
a bit larger touch and the future really is digital, instant and allways on...

...and the sun shone brightly on the white expanse of snow ...

So says who?

While waiting for the next BSG season to hit the local dvd window, I'm spending some thoughtful time with the essay collection "So say we all"- with the highlight so far being a piece by Charlie W. Starr ('personal' site seems to be either down or moved) on Galacticas Gods and their "real world" potential reflections. Adds another layer or two to the show, so I guess it's time to start over once more. So many angels and connection to reconsider or discover. Long-form storytelling at its best.

T or dvd?

The latest issue of Wired [16.12] has another good read by Clive Thomspson - on the t-shirt economy, how niche sites and creators can support themselves by selling basic merchandise like t-shirts to their fans.
One of the main cases is RvB - and I have a minor gripe considering that they also have a subscription/sponsor model, and do a brisk trade in dvds of the show - thereby actually also getting income on the "product" as such. So while it might be correct that the t-shirt put them in business, as a case it is more suited for their versatility both in terms of productions, distribution and income.

So how does this compare to the discussion of "free" [C.Anderson] - or 1000 true fans [K.Kelly with follow-up]?
There is a way for people to make (enough) money doing what they love. The web makes it possible to gather enough dedicated fans or followers to cover costs and then some. BUT - it is a way out for a few, just like there are quite a few "would-be Britneys" out there.

Just because it is feasible and might be gaining traction doesn't make it a sure thing. PBS has been doing it for years. And here in Norway it is 'down by law' - as everyone who owns a television gets to contribute a bit to the NRK (public broadcaster). At just over 2 million homes we are a niche unto ourselves. (and it might be more akin to the ransom model :D)


For two more pieces from Clive T - head over to OTM - from february (on conncetors and Gladwell) and november (reccomendations and Netflix)


Wipeout when the fat lady sings?
Also in the [16.12] was a spread on the new Opera house in Oslo. It is a stunning piece of architecture, and a bit of a gamble considering the threat of increased sea-levels. But the urban angle tying it into skating and cross-use is good branding.

...and the sun is sneaking away, but I'm caught up with Wired - just a bit of backlog to clear out...

Customer first

"Similar to Apple’s own ‘Remote’ app for iTunes, Sonos today released a free download that turns an iPhone into a wireless controller for the company’s Multi-Room Music System." - from post over at Last 100 (including a video clip demo)

Wonderful move, making it easier for their customers to both enjoy and show off their cool system to friends and visitors. And giving them serious insight along the way. At almost no cost.

Score another point or five for the Touch - a true multipurpose tool for the digital age.

Hidden in plain sight

A pretty good article in Wired this issue on "ARG" or alternate reality games, focusing mainly on the NIN and Trent Reznor game around Year Zero. The article itself included several pretty obvious clues and mini-games, but it is the online edition that really shines - including links to special video and a bit more background. Among them a clip that ends with a link to the Open Source Resistance.

One minor gripe, having the same question online makes sense - but that makes the magazine redundant, so perhaps there should have been a more direct pointer to the 'hidden' link and the content (or perhaps there was? In a hex transformation of the text, or as the first letter of each word of the hidden message? The possibilities are almost endless, considering the complexity of some of the the other "hints")

...and the sun shone brightly on the new snow...

Sounds like web spirits

September was the "rebirth of music" issue from Wired - with podcasting filling my Zen with weekly shows and podiobooks, I have to admit that pure music has taken a backseat (even with our whole collection on the pc). So it was interesting to read a bit more about alternative venues (in the broadest possible interpretation of the word) such as Last.Fm and NerdCore Hip hop.

Last.Fm basically takes the community and recommendation aspect of Amazon and brings it to music. By "listening in" on more than 3 billion songs played (software works with most audio player programs, such as Winamp, iTunes and Windows Media Player) they help you discover new music and keep a finger on what's getting hotter around the net.

Nerdcore offer up a twisted mix of geeky rap, with artists taking their names from a broad swath of popular media. Good fun. Have picked up a couple of tracks, and added them to the playlist.

In a way I'm glad that I'm not in the US - free Amazon shipping and NetFlix delivering 7 million dvds each week to 5 million subscribers just might feel to nice and convenient to go out and look for new entertainment on my own. Been feeling the same way about games lately, so when I got a gift card I headed straight to town and grabbed a couple of games that had already made in into platinum (PS2 bestsellers). Review games feel the same way - get several, play some or all for a bit, then a few for more than an hour and then pack up a whole stack and give them back to free up closet space.


Totally unrelated tangent, but she was featured at Wired Next Fest; "Actroid Der Kokoro -- an android resembling a young Japanese woman" - gives off a Bladerunner vibe. Sure you can tell she's not all that human - but give it some years and the money to improve facial texture and complexity, and things might not be so clean cut. Especially if she answered on a video phone. Neat and spooky mixed together nicely.